New to Bangor Area High School for the 2017-2018 school year, Mr. Crisp is excited to be taking over the Computer Science Discoveries and AP Computer Science Principles courses. 

 “I was really looking forward to teaching at Bangor because the possibility of having a classroom with MY name on a door was always a dream of mine,” Mr. Crisp said. 

 Prior to his teaching career at BHS, Mr. Crisp majored in Mass Communications and Secondary Education at Bloomsburg University, and studied Korean at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. 

“I majored in Mass Communication to become a journalist. After 9/11 I felt compelled to join the Army so I followed my passion for reporting and became an Army Cryptologic Linguist,” Mr.Crisp said. “Not wanting to take a step back, I didn’t return to journalism after my Army contract was fulfilled. I instead went back to school to become a teacher, and voila… now I’m kicking at Bangor Area High School.” 

During his time spent as a journalist, Mr. Crisp found his passion for computer science when he tried to get his video game to run on his computer. 

“I became interested in computer science when I was trying to get Ultima 7 to run on my 486 DX,” Mr. Crisp said. “Once I discovered how to squeeze as much ‘juice’ out of my rig as I possibly could, I became addicted to maximizing my hardware’s potential.” 

Even though computer science can seem intimidating, Mr. Crisp encourages students to take the class because in reality, it’s not as difficult as it may appear. 

“Computer Science sounds very intelligent. It is, and it’s not,” Mr. Crisp said. “Yes, diving into the complexity of what makes the modern computer tick is difficult, and writing extensive amounts of code is time consuming, but studying the inner workings of computers and pounding out code isn’t really what I’m teaching. I like to think that I’m teaching ‘applied creativity.’ If you want to share something unique with the world, computer science is an excellent subject to take to learn how.” 

All in all, Mr. Crisp believes that taking Computer Science Discoveries and AP Computer Science is beneficial for all students. 

“The best way to build competence with a tool is by using that tool to complete projects. The computer is a tool, albeit a complicated one,” Mr. Crisp said. “The more time students have completing tasks with a computer, the more marketable they are in nearly any career field they choose to pursue.” 

With everything that Mr. Crisp has to offer, he’s sure to be a great attribute to Bangor Area High School.